South Korea - The Korea Times

Seoul tightens nighttime brightness limits on outdoor billboards

The Seoul Metropolitan Government has set stricter nighttime brightness limits on large LED billboards across the capital in response to concerns over visual fatigue among pedestrians and drivers. The move followed The Korea Times' Feb. 7 report that glare from large digital displays can interfere with nighttime driving, leading to an increasing number of complaints over light pollution. The city government said Tuesday it has come up with detailed regulations on brightness caps for outdoor LED billboards. In Korea, each local government is required to set its own regulations on outdoor advertising brightness and color. According to the rules, the daytime brightness cap — the first daytime limit among local governments — is set at 7,000 candelas per square meter. The 7,000-candela daytime threshold was drawn from field data and international standards after consulting with industry and experts, the city said, noting it still allows for adequate on-site visibility. For night, the limits are further tiered by display size and hour, ranging from 350 to 500 candelas — all well below th

Mar 31, 2026By Park Ung

Seoul tightens nighttime brightness limits on outdoor billboards

Life satisfaction hits record high as isolation eases

Eight in 10 Koreans are satisfied with their lives, as overall life satisfaction rose and social isolation eased over the past year, government data showed Tuesday. Despite these improvements, concerns over ideological divisions and class tensions remained pronounced, with some indicators pointing to a deepening of those conflicts, underscoring a complex social mood. According to data released by the Ministry of Data and Statistics, the proportion of people expressing satisfaction with their lives reached 80.8 percent last year, up 5.2 percentage points from 75.6 percent a year earlier. This marks the highest level since the data began to be compiled in 2013. A breakdown by gender showed men expressing satisfaction at 81.2 percent, slightly higher than women at 80.3 percent. By age group, individuals in their 30s recorded the highest satisfaction level at 85.2 percent, while those aged 60 and older reported the lowest at 75.1 percent. Perceptions of work also improved. The share of respondents who said their work was meaningful rose to 79.4 percent, up 3.1 percentage points from the prev

Mar 31, 2026By Jun Ji-hye

Life satisfaction hits record high as isolation eases

Gov't to allow use of regular plastic bags if approved waste bags are in short supply

The government on Monday urged the public not to worry about possible shortages of standard plastic garbage bags, despite the ongoing conflict in the Middle East. "You don't have to worry about a shortage of standard garbage bags. The government has taken all necessary measures," Minister of Climate, Energy and Environment Kim Sung-hwan said in a Facebook post. The minister's remarks came as a worrisome phenomenon has recently emerged in which people are trying to hoard standard plastic garbage bags, amid a sharp rise in polyethylene prices, a key material used to make plastic bags. In Korea, only garbage bags approved by public institutions can be used to dispose of general household waste under the volume-based garbage disposal system. Kim said if approved waste bags are in short supply, the government will allow the use of regular plastic bags for waste disposal. "The government has taken all necessary measures, such as allowing the use of regular bags, in case of the worst-case scenario. There will never be a situation where trash piles up at home," Kim said. He then firmly stated that

Mar 30, 2026By Yonhap

Gov't to allow use of regular plastic bags if approved waste bags are in short supply

Seoul expands outreach to foreign missions, honorary citizens

Seoul is intensifying efforts to build its global ties, bringing together foreign envoys and honorary citizens through new outreach events. The Seoul Metropolitan Government said Sunday it had hosted foreign mission officials at the Seoul Gallery — a cultural complex beneath Seoul City Hall — for a familiarization tour of the city's policies and urban vision earlier this month. The city also brought together its honorary citizens there for an inaugural gathering last week. The events are part of a broader push to formalize ties with the city's global contacts through the Seoul Gallery, which opened in February as a showcase for Seoul's policies and urban vision and is set to anchor the city's expanding international network. Twenty representatives from 13 countries — including Luxembourg, Norway, New Zealand, the Vatican, Bulgaria, Ecuador, El Salvador, Honduras, Peru and Guatemala — attended the first of four planned gallery tours for foreign mission staff on March 20. Three additional sessions are scheduled for April 3, 10 and 17, with 36 countries expected to participate in to

Mar 30, 2026By Park Ung

Seoul expands outreach to foreign missions, honorary citizens

Over 80% of teens, adults concerned over AI-based online abuse: poll

More than 80 percent of Korea's teenagers and adults expressed concerns over online abuse involving the misuse of generative artificial intelligence (AI) tools, such as the creation of deepfake videos and disinformation, a poll showed Monday. According to the poll conducted from September to November last year on teenagers and adults by the Korea Media and Communications Commission (KMCC), 89.4 percent of teenagers said they recognize the seriousness of AI-driven cyber violence, while 87.6 percent of adults said the same. The survey was conducted on 9,296 students from fourth-grade elementary school to third-year high school, and 7,521 adults aged 19 to 69. Teenage respondents cited the ease of creating content with AI tools as their top concern, while adults expressed fears over the potential for repeated harm from AI-generated materials. The poll additionally showed 42.3 percent of teenagers experienced some form of cyber abuse in 2025, down 0.5 percentage point from a year earlier. The figure for adults came to 15.8 percent, up 2.3 percentage points over the same period. By channel, te

Mar 30, 2026By Yonhap

Over 80% of teens, adults concerned over AI-based online abuse: poll

Gov’t unveils 3-year road map for AI, 6G push

The Ministry of Science and ICT has approved a three-year national road map to pivot from an ICT powerhouse to the world’s top three artificial intelligence (AI) leader by 2028, anchoring the push on 6G commercialization, strengthening AI technologies and AI transformation across all industries. The ministry announced Sunday the approval of a basic plan to promote ICT and convergence, along with a comprehensive plan for an intelligent information society for 2026 to 2028, at an Information Communications Strategy Committee meeting held Friday. Jointly developed with related ministries, the strategy outlines four key pillars: expanding national digital infrastructure, strengthening digital capabilities, advancing national intelligent informatization and fostering an inclusive digital environment. On the infrastructure side, the government will upgrade nationwide 5G networks to standalone mode and accelerate development of next-generation 6G technologies, aiming for commercial rollout in 2030. It will also tighten information security management, bolster public and private cyber defense

Mar 29, 2026By Lee Gyu-lee

Gov’t unveils 3-year road map for AI, 6G push

‘Their son cheated — so why are his parents getting blamed?’ Affair scandal sparks backlash in Korea

An extramarital affair involving a non-celebrity man has unexpectedly brought about a public backlas against his famous parents — triggering a heated online debate over how far parental responsibility should go. According to a March 25 report by NewDaily, a Korean court ruled that the man must pay 30 million won ($22,000) in damages to his ex-wife and provide monthly child support of 800,000 won until their child reaches adulthood. The ex-wife also reportedly won a separate lawsuit against the woman involved in the affair, receiving 20 million won in compensation. In an interview with a YouTube channel, she said the marriage collapsed due to her husband’s infidelity and claimed that child support payments had not been properly made. The case has gained unusual attention because the man’s parents are well-known singers in South Korea — Hong Seo-beom and Jo Gap-kyung — who previously appeared on family reality shows featuring their children. As details of the affair surfaced, criticism began to spill over to his parents — despite their lack of direct involvement. The backlash h

Mar 28, 2026By Xportsnews

‘Their son cheated — so why are his parents getting blamed?’ Affair scandal sparks backlash in Korea

InterviewAfter crime, life goes on for victims at Smile Center

Under Korea's Constitution, only one provision stipulates the state's obligation to provide relief to crime victims: “Citizens who have suffered harm to their life or body due to the criminal acts of others may receive relief from the state as prescribed by law.” Since opening in 2010, Smile Center, the embodiment of that promise, has expanded to 16 centers nationwide as the country's only institution providing integrated support to victims across the full spectrum of violent crime. “Trauma is compounded especially for crime victims because most are navigating police investigations and court proceedings for the very first time,” Baik Myung-jae, director of the Ministry of Justice-affiliated Smile Center Support Headquarters, said in an interview with The Korea Times, Wednesday. “Many cannot return to school or work, falling into financial hardship and watching their daily lives unravel.” Smile Center also serves foreign nationals in Korea, though they account for about 1 percent of the approximately 2,000 annual users, most of them from Southeast Asian countries such as Viet

Mar 28, 2026By Park Ung

After crime, life goes on for victims at Smile Center

As Middle East tensions escalate, Koreans turn to unlikely staple — plastic bags

On Thursday, Park Soon-ok, 67, tried to order 200 plastic bags for her stall selling tteokbokki (spicy simmered rice cakes) next to central Seoul's Cheonggye Stream. What she didn't expect was that Middle East tensions, which have been escalating since last month, would disrupt shipping through the Strait of Hormuz and leave her empty-handed. “My suppliers told me they couldn't get plastic bags,” Park told The Korea Times, Friday. “They said, even if the war ends today, it would take six weeks for stock to come in. I may run out of my stock in about two weeks. After that, I don't know [where to get the bags].” Park's story illustrates a growing concern among Korean consumers and businesses over potential essential goods shortages, mostly of garbage and plastic bags, amid fears that the Middle East conflict is choking shipping routes and disrupting supplies of naphtha — a key raw material for plastic production. Korea introduced its volume-based waste fee system in 1995, requiring households to buy government-issued bags for general waste disposal. The bags range from 2 to 100

Mar 27, 2026By Park Ung

As Middle East tensions escalate, Koreans turn to unlikely staple — plastic bags

Lee Geun-an, infamous torture interrogator, dies at 88

Lee Geun-an, a former police investigator who became a symbol of state violence under Korea's military dictatorship and was known as the regime's "master torturer," died Wednesday. He was 88. Lee joined the police force in 1970 and later served as a counter-espionage investigator. During the 1980s, he extracted false confessions from suspects through electric shock and water torture while investigating cases involving alleged communist sympathizers. Among his victims was the late Kim Geun-tae, a former health and welfare minister who suffered lasting health complications. His name and face became publicly known only in 1988 through media reports, prompting him to submit his resignation by mail and vanish. After 11 years as a fugitive, he turned himself in in 1999 and was tried on charges of illegally detaining and torturing fishermen abducted to North Korea and sentenced to seven years in prison. Released in 2006, he briefly served as a Protestant pastor before being removed from the ministry in 2012, the same year he drew public outrage at a memoir launch saying, “At the time, I thou